09/03/13
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1031 LESSON 04-09-2013 WEDNESDAY
FREE ONLINE eNālāndā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org
for revival of Buddhism
5) School of Buddhist Studies,
Philosophy and Comparative Religion;
This
Spirituality one finds in one’s religion or religious teachings is the
real guide to human peace and happiness. And every religion has some
morals to teach.
REFLECTIONS ON BUDDHISM
by Most Venerable Dr. VINAYARAKKHITA
Buddhism and Rebirth or Re-becoming
According to Buddha’s teachings human being is a sum of Mind and Body, also known as Name and Form (Nama-Rupa) and not combination of soul and body. This Name (Nama) is a sum of feelings (Vedana), perception (Sanya), mental formations (Sankara) and consciousness (Vinyana). So called rebirth (in fact it is Re-becoming) takes place through the re-linking of consciousness (Patisandi Vinyana) to the next life with all the Kamma (good and bad volitional actions) and creates a new body under other suitable conditionsin accordance with the nature’s law. Thus what transmigrates is not soul but character. The spiritual element in humans allows him/her freedom within the limits of nature, in this very present to mend partially or totally his/her character (kamma), which in turn has effect on the present and future events of his/her personal and social life.
When we Buddhists can understand and accept creation with out a creator then there should not be any problem in understanding and accepting so called rebirth without soul. In fact this very concept of rebirth without soul in Buddhism is clued PumarBhava which means re-becoming - A present continuous process without a permanent entity behind the process or apart from the process. If at all it is anything, it is an entity in the process.
Dr.B.R.Ambedkar too, in his book “Buddha and His Dhamma” has raised questions on the doctrinal points like rebirth. He has raised these questions not just to rebel but to encourage his followers to enquire and then accept with confidence. He was not interested nor did he have time to ’spoon feed’ his followers as he had many responsibilities on his shoulders and in the short span of life he had. He had to bear many burdens for the suffering masses. More over this buddha Dhamma also known as Buddhism is not philosophy to be understood just intellectually. It is an experience to be gained by practicing the Noble-eight-fold path and it takes time according to one’s merit, effort and skill. When it comes to Dhamma an ounce of parcticse is better than tons of theory.
NOW IS ALL THAT YOU HAVE
Dr. Ambedkar did not accept so called rebirth for it was not in his or other’s normal experience. Even Gauthama Siddhartha talked about rebirth only after his attainment of Buddha-hood. His first words after Awakenment with Awareness were:-
Anekajati Samsaram - Through many a birth in Samsara
Sandhavissam, anibbhism - I ran through, not finding
Gahakarakam gavesanto - The builder of the youse, searching
Dukkhajati punnappunam - suffering was birth again and again……
Further in Dhammaccakka Pavattana Sutta - the first discourse to five ascetics Buddha says :-
Ayam-antimajati - This is my last birth
Natthidani punabhavo’ti - There is no more re-becoming.
Thus we see that Buddha uses the term Punabhavo and not Punajanma or punautpatti. Buddha says that all living beings are impermanent in nature, suffering in transition and have no soul in existence but only an identity in process.
To understand further let us know the three terms used in this connection, namelt
1. puna-avatara (re-incarnation)
2. puna-utpatti (re-birth)
3. puna-bhava (re-becoming)
1) Puna-avatara (re-incarnation)
Here puna means again. Avatara is noun form of avatarana which means coming down. Now we can conclude the meaning of punaravatara as coming down or the person who has come down. Who is coming down in this context? God is coming down. Hindus believe their supreme god vishbu comes down in different forms when an where it is necessary.They call dasa avatar i.e., ten reincarnations. According to them god is coming from higher place of heaven to lower place like earth thus the word avatarana - coming down. Therefore re-incarnation is the embodiment of god in different forms. In fact re-incarnation does not explain the situation after death of other forms of life. This is Hindu idea.
2) Puna-utpatti (rebirth)
The word rebirth very much revolves around the concept of eternal soul and rebirth meant migration of soul. According to some religions when a person dies the soul is released and continues living in a new form elsewhere. Buddhism does not accept any such thing as an eternal soul. According to Buddha, to believe in everything (elements and soul) to be eternal is one extreme called eternalize. And to believe that everything finishes when one dies is called Nihilism and is the other extreme. The Buddha avoided these two extremes and adopted the middle p[ath of dependent-origination (Patticasumpada).
3) Puna_bhava (Re-becoming)
Re-becoming or renewed as the Buddhist concept of life after death. Once the idea of an eternal soul or any form of everlasting substance is rejected an obvious question arises. If there is no soul, who is going to be born? Before answering this question another question should should be answered. That question is, Who is living? When we find the answer to this question, automatically we find the answer to first question.
Who is becoming? Being is becoming. Everything is in an incessant state of flux. This is the theory of Anicca- Impermanence. If things are ever changing, unpleasant and unsatisfactory how can we take those things are eternal? This is the case with the soul also.
Therefore the answer to the question who is becoming is “being is becoming”. For example when we say, “is it raining? no body would regard the question “what is raining?” as meaningful. As everybody knows that rain is raining. Similarly, if someone asks, “what or who is becoming?” answer would be “Being is becoming” And why being is becoming? It is because of tanha (craving).
So there is identity in the processes of existence but no identity apart from ythe process or behind the processes. The humans go through the different stages of life such childhood, youth and old age and are not the either physically or mentally and yet they are not totally different either. They are going through a process. A child dies to give birth to youth and the youth dies to give birth to a old man. Thus the term used by Buddha is re-becoming and not rebirth. Therefore we can say that in Buddhism we don’t have re-birth of soul but instead we have the process of re-becoming of the five aggregates as mentioned in the beginning.
May all understand the reality of re-becoming?
VOICE OF SARVA SAMAJ SADBHAVAN
This email contains graphics, so if you don’t see them,view it in your browser (
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Round Table PRABUDDHA BHARATH
For an Informed Ambedkar Age
Dear Jagatheesan Chandrasekharan,
Feature
From Jind to Delhi via Rohtak: The tortuous path to justice
( http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6865:the-tortuous-path-to-justice&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132
)
Sanghapali Aruna Kornana
(A report on the events and
protests that followed the tragic death of the 20 year old Scheduled Caste (Untouchable /Buddhist) girl in
Jind, Haryana, on 24th August, 2013)
What happened?
The country
witnessed another horrific yet beautifully manipulated story of a young
woman who was raped and murdered. The mutilated body of a 20 year old
student from Baniya Khera, Haryana, was found thrown next to an
isolated canal near secluded fields in Jind on August 25th. According to
the witnesses there were few clothes on her body, and the injury marks on her body and private parts were clearly visible.
But
even before the medical examination was carried out, the Superintendent
of Police, Mr Balwant Singh Rana has been quoted as saying that the
girl seemed to have committed suicide. Why would an official make
such a vague assumption unless he had a strong intention to hush up this
matter at the ground level? And now they are doing their best to
prove what he quoted as the truth. The authorities went to the level of
saying that the death might have been caused due to mosquito bites.
The
family members and witnesses who saw the body at Jind Civil Hospital
said, “Her body was lying sprawled on the stretcher and her neck seemed broken.
Her arm was twisted inwards at the wrist as if by force. Her feet
seemed to have been tied with a strong rope and her salwar was drenched
in blood. There were round burn marks around her neck and chest where
the skin had turned white as if cigarette or bidi had been stubbed out
on it. Blood was also flowing from scratch marks at her chest and legs. Only her face was clean and untouched” (see this Hindu report (
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/justice-demanded-for-dead-dalit-girl-from-haryana/article5075966.ece?homepage=true
)).
When the police refused to take cognizance of their
complaint the family members and the protesters staged a dharna at the
bus stand with the girl’s body. Soon a huge police contingent arrived
and resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the protesters including women
and family members. According to a villager present at the spot: “A
policeman kicked the dead body and slapped the father on the head saying
go away, you won’t get anything here.” This alleged action was shown on a local television channel repeatedly before being taken off air.
Read More ( http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6865:the-tortuous-path-to-justice&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132
)
State expects dead SC girl to prove she was violated and killed?
(
http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6859:unending-struggles-of-a-violated-murdered-dalit-woman&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132
)
Asha Kowtal and Jenny Rowena
On
24th August, a 20 year old Dalit girl was brutally raped and murdered
in Jind, Haryana, while she was on her way to write an examination. Her mutilated
body was found near a canal the next day by the police. There were
cigarette burn marks on her body and several indications of sexual violence.
It is clear that she was kidnapped, raped and then murdered. However,
it has been 4 days now and to this day neither do we have a proper post-mortem
report nor have the culprits been identified or arrested. In fact, the
general feeling of the family members and various other groups who are protesting against this incident is that the police in Haryana is trying to protect those who are involved.
Protests at AIIMS demanding a third post mortem
There
have been very strong protests in Haryana over this but the media and
civil society have not given much attention to this case. This is in the background
of year long protests against the gang rapes of dalit women in Haryana
by Dalit organizations like All India SC/STt Mahila Adhikar Manch (Haryana
and Delhi). More than 22 such cases of brutal rapes of Dalit women have
been documented and are in various stages of legal battles for
justice.
Further,
this silencing is happening even as India gained international
recognition for having witnessed the largest urban protests against the
brutal gang rape of Nirbhaya in Dec, 2012. Urban gang rapes are
constructed as sexual violence on casteless Indian women, with
perpetrators being poor and lower caste migrant males. And the
response to these urban gang rapes are heartfelt, immediate and
consistent at all levels: civil society, police and criminal justice
systems, hospital staff and media personnel along with the larger public
giving emotional support to the protests with constant anger maintenance and mobilization in the social media.
Read More (
http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6859:unending-struggles-of-a-violated-murdered-dalit-woman&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132
)
A dissent note on the ‘Dark is Beautiful’ campaign
( http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6853:dark-is-beautiful-a-dissent-note&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132
)
Sruthi Herbert
“She is so fair that to look at her, you wouldn’t say she is an SC girl”.
The
‘Dark is Beautiful’ campaign got a big fillip with its endorsement by
Nandita Das, who no doubt, has experienced the bias that the movie
industry has against dark-skinned people. One kept having nagging
doubts despite generally liking the campaign as it questioned the
cultural premium placed on
fair skin. So it was a relief to find Anjali Rajoria writing in Savari ( http://www.dalitweb.org/?p=2039 ) about why she did not support the campaign.
Some
of the stingingly ignorant comments, especially one that accuses her of
casteism, have provoked me into writing this response.
The website of the ‘Dark is Beautiful ( http://www.darkisbeautiful.in/ )’ campaign states that it “challenges the belief that the value and beauty of people
(in India and worldwide), is determined by the fairness of their skin.
This belief, shaped by societal attitudes and reinforced by media messages, is corroding the self-worth of countless people, young and old”.
The misgivings one had about this campaign resolved themselves for a good part after reading this. It was problematic for me.
Read More (
http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6853:dark-is-beautiful-a-dissent-note&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132
)
Teaching Caste in an Upper Caste School
( http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6845:teaching-caste-in-an-upper-caste-school&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132
)
Ketaki Chowkhani
Last
summer, an 18 year old, 12th Std. student approached me to help him out
with a project on caste. He was located at an elite school in a small town in South India, and wanted me to teach him for around 4 months, culminating in a presentation of that project.
I
was very enthusiastic and delighted at the opportunity. Fresh from an
MPhil in Cultural Studies, I saw this as my chance to pass on readings
and
ideas I had learnt and come to believe in during my postgraduate studies.
I
started off with asking the student about his own personal locations,
in matters of caste and discussions around it. It so happened that he
was upper caste, in a school with only upper caste and mostly middles
class students and teachers. I was very familiar with the school and
its politics since I had studied there myself. No one ever talked to
us about caste there. There was a resounding silence around it. I was
surprised when he came
up with the topic. I told him that no one
talked about caste in the school spaces because everyone was upper
caste. It was like, I explained, in a community full of men, no one
will talk about gender or feminism. Or in a community of white people,
how no one will talk of race. This was of course, because caste was
believed to be ascribed to only lower castes and SC/STs and not upper
castes, and that they seemed strangely absolved of any casteidentity. The middle class, upper caste idea of castelessness was the prevalent norm there.
Read More (
http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6845:teaching-caste-in-an-upper-caste-school&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132
)
Events and Activism
Mashaal Rally: Protest against apathy in probe of rape & murder of SC girl in Haryana
(
http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6863:mashaal-rally-protest-against-apathy-in-probe-of-rape-murder-of-dalit-girl-in-haryana&catid=129:events-and-activism&Itemid=195
)
Mashaal Rally : Protest against the gross apathy and nelgigence in the investigation of rape and murder of Dalit girl in Haryana
at 6.00 pm
on Saturday, 31st August, 2013
at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi
The
20 year old girl was found dead under very mysterious circumstances on
the morning of Aug. 25th. From then on, the police and district administration
of Jind have neglected the case and instead beat up and arrested the
protesters at Jind. Three autopsies were conducted and the final report from AIIMS was given to police on 29th August.
Read More (
http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6863:mashaal-rally-protest-against-apathy-in-probe-of-rape-murder-of-dalit-girl-in-haryana&catid=129:events-and-activism&Itemid=195
)
Two films on caste in Kerala
( http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6860:two-films-on-caste&catid=129:events-and-activism&Itemid=195
)
Two documentary films on caste in contemporary Kerala
–’3D STEREO CASTE’ (23 min; Dir: A S Ajith Kumar) and ‘DON”T BE OUR
FATHERS’ (30 Min; Dir: Rupesh Kumar ) will be screened at different colleges/universities in New Delhi from August 30th to September 3rd.
Screening Schedule
August 30, Friday - 9.30 am: Kamala Nehru College
August 30, Friday - 2.00 pm: Ambedkar University
August 30, Friday - 9.30 pm: JNU
August 31, Saturday - 3.00 pm: Department of English, Delhi University
Read More ( http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6860:two-films-on-caste&catid=129:events-and-activism&Itemid=195
)
Current News
*
Dalit and Adivasi Women Warriors Question Caste and Gender Oppression (
http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6243:dalit-and-adivasi-women-warriors-question-caste-and-gender-oppression&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132
)
Sujatha Surepally
(Impressions from the first National Dalit and Adivasi Women’s Congress
held on February 15-16, 2013, at Tata Institute of Social Sciences,
Mumbai)
We live in nature! We die in Nature! It’s our life, if you
occupy our land where should we go and how do we live? Whose land is
this?
The hall is echoing with the furious voice of Dayamani Barla,
veteran Adivasi activist from Jharkhand. She is trying to unite people
against mining in Jharkhand, around 108 mining companies are waiting
to destroy Adivasi life in the name of mining, first they come for coal,
next they say power houses, it continues, we are pushed out and out further. How do we live without our land?
…Read More (
http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6243:dalit-and-adivasi-women-warriors-question-caste-and-gender-oppression&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132
)
*
Dalit Information And Education Trust: New Waves in Dalit Discourse (
http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5100:dalit-information-and-education-trust-new-waves-in-dalit-discourse&catid=127:post-ambedkar-leaders&Itemid=158
)
Sujatha Surepally
(The Annual meet of D.I.E.T was held on 5th May, 2012, in Hyderabad. We
thank Sujatha Surepally for sharing this report on the event)
SC/ST Information and Education Trust’s (SCSTIET) Annual meet was held on
5th May, 2012 at Hotel Grand plaza, Nampally, Hyderabad. It was a
memorable event. Though it was titled as ‘Book Reviews and
Felicitations’, there was much more to describe, feel proud about at the
meet, and to celebrate our
own people’s contribution to dalit
literature, criticism, rediscovering Ambedkar etc. A culmination of
different views and perspectives, bundles of
experiences, thoughts of
different generations, the agonies and strategies of building movements
for dignity. It presented a rare opportunity, and
indeed was a marvelous day.
…Read More (
http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5100:dalit-information-and-education-trust-new-waves-in-dalit-discourse&catid=127:post-ambedkar-leaders&Itemid=158
)
* 1
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Desappriya jayasuriya
Henry
Colebrooke and others, all faithfully recorded in the early volumes of
ASIATICK RESEARCHES- and since forgotten. However, during his time in
Benares he had visited the fort at Allahabad and had been dismayed to
see how the sun and rain were eroding the lettering on the broken pillar
lying just inside the fort gates. ” I could not see the highly curious
column lying at Allahabad, falling into decay, without wishing to
preserve a complete copy of its several inscriptions,” he wrote. “The
Moghul emperor Jehangir was content to engrave his name and proud
descent in a belt through the middle of the most ancient inscription-
the English would rightly deprecate such profanation, but their own
passive neglect has proved in a few short years even more destructive
than the Barbarous act of the Mohammadan despot”. James
Prinsep.” Note on inscription No. 1 on the Allahabad Column “, JASB,
vol. 111 (3) 1834
ISBN 9781468300710